[thenorm]

Any documented case of carbon build up on the intake valves of the 2.0 L Duratec Ti-VCT Engine? NA or turbo?

I know the 3.5 eco boost has problems as well as Vw and Audi

I just picked up a Escape with 2.0 eco boost and am considering a catch can but only it is a real problem and not speculation

 

[Elizabeth]

I have been reading everything on the Focus forums for the past few years.. No one has complained about carbon buildup in any meaningful way.
It has been discussed as you have.. with comments this has happened to other direct injection engines etc..
But nothing specific about MK3 Focus owners having such problems.

 

[Arco-Zakus]

I have been reading everything on the Focus forums for the past few years.. No one has complained about carbon buildup in any meaningful way.
It has been discussed as you have.. with comments this has happened to other direct injection engines etc..
But nothing specific about MK3 Focus owners having such problems.

You must have missed these two:

New Warning To All Ford Ecoboost Owners!

Ford Ecoboost Warning Part 2 My Findings

 

[Elizabeth]

You must have missed these two:

No, those are the same sort of warning with no real issues directly tied to failures. They are warnings that some folks think it is a problem. Which is NOT the same as actual failures and repair/replacement of parts of engines.
Thinking it might be leading to a fail is not the same thing as a fail. [sleep]

 

[cobrajet429]

Harbor freight has $69 Boroscopes.

 

[ELCouz]

Why not give your car some Italian tuneup?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_tuneup


I drive it at WOT all the time... no need to worry (except for drivetrain strain but that's another story) []

"To eliminate the problem of intake valve deposits that plague current direct gasoline injection engines, the engineers at Mazda determined that deposits are formed when intake valve temperatures fall below 400 degrees C. Measures were taken so that the intake valve would operate above this point to reduce deposit formation."

I'm sure Ford were smart too and overlap in exhaust stroke to get them hot like cakes []

 

[tnygigles66]

Why not give your car some Italian tuneup?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_tuneup


I drive it at WOT all the time... no need to worry (except for drivetrain strain but that's another story) []



I'm sure Ford were smart too and overlap in exhaust stroke to get them hot like cakes []

This is the most amazing thing I've seen!

 

[ELCouz]

This is the most amazing thing I've seen!

Indeed

 

[thenorm]

please stay to the topic at hand

actually, that mazda tidbit was helpful. might explain the lack of cases...

Harbor freight has $69 Boroscopes.

Why not give your car some Italian tuneup?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_tuneup
I drive it at WOT all the time... no need to worry (except for drivetrain strain but that's another story) []
I'm sure Ford were smart too and overlap in exhaust stroke to get them hot like cakes []

This is the most amazing thing I've seen!

Indeed

 

[skiboarder119]

I'd like to revive this thread with the hopes of finding somebody who has checked their intake valves. Is there really no-one?

I have two focus (with 70,000 and 35,000 miles) that i think are much louder than when new. The 70k mile one is much louder than the 35k mile one and is even starting to vibrate annoyingly at idle. I've checked all the other possibilities (spark plugs, air filter, HPFP, chaffing on wiring harness, motor mounts), and am thinking about inspecting the valves.

 

[wavsine]

I have two focus (with 70,000 and 35,000 miles) that i think are much louder than when new. The 70k mile one is much louder than the 35k mile one and is even starting to vibrate annoyingly at idle. I've checked all the other possibilities (spark plugs, air filter, HPFP, chaffing on wiring harness, motor mounts), and am thinking about inspecting the valves.

Ford has done a much better job of dealing with the carbon fouling issue than BMW/VW/Audi etc. That being said, no direct injected engine is immune to carbon fouling since no detergent fuel ever washes over the intake valves. Ford's variable valve timing and valve overlap schema has been very effective on their normally aspirated GDI engine. (Their turbocharged Ecoboost engine has had problems but that is another story)

Now here is the problem. There is no light on the dash that comes on when your intake valves begin to coke up with carbon. Since they are visually inaccessible without a borescope, most people never see their intake valves so you will likely not see any complaints in the forum about carbon buildup. What you might see are complaints about the symptoms of a carbon fouling issue which can include a rough cold idle and reduced power. Most people don't periodically dyno their cars either so they would likely never be aware of reduced power due to a problem with carbon on the valves since the degradation in power would be insidious.

Most people will likely not experience a problem but if you spend a significant amount of time idling in traffic there are a couple of things you can do to help prevent carbon buildup:

1. Run the lowest volatility synthetic oil (low NOACK)

2. Occasionally take it out on the highway and hold the revs at 4000 rpm for about 15-20 minutes. This will get the intake valves very hot which coupled with the high intake velocity should burn off light carbon deposits. (Italian tuneup)

 

[SilverPony2001]

Harbor freight has $69 Boroscopes.

$27 from Amazon if you have a Laptop.

http://smile.amazon.com/Million-Wat...d_sim_p_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0A9P7876JHXPVBK6QCHN

 

[pintoman]

One solution might be is to make a way for valves to rotate (valve rotators) on each stroke allowing valve to heat up evenly, possibly preventing carbon build up on back side... since it is happening on cold side.....not sure if they do that or not now...just a thought!

 

[skiboarder119]

I'm aware of all this. Lets not start another discussion about DI and carbon build up. Please only post if you have info about someone inspecting valves on the Naturally Aspirated 2.0L duratec.

 

[dan50]

Echoing Elizabeth's earlier comment, I have seen no reports on this forum or others about intake valve deposits on the Focus engine. As you may have noticed, owners come here to complain and a head removal to clean intake valves would surely be worth a very, very long thread. So unless your driving conditions or maintenance regimen is really unusual, or you happened to get a bad example, I doubt this is your problem.

There have been intake valve issues reported on Ford's EcoBoost engines, but that's another thing altogether.

And, though this isn't what you asked for, I'm not sure a rough cold idle is a symptom of valve deposits on a DI engine. When deposits form on intake valves on a port-injected engine, they act like a sponge, absorbing fuel in the fuel/air mix that passes over them, confounding the ECU's efforts to get the right mixture into the combustion chamber until the valves heat up. As fuel doesn't take this route in a DI engine, deposits shouldn't result in the same symptoms.

 

[wavsine]

I'm not sure a rough cold idle is a symptom of valve deposits on a DI engine.

The techs understand that and as a result, carbon was one of the last things they checked for. A rough cold idle was the first clue and Ford engineers asked resident Ford tech Brian (makuloco2000) to borescope the valves on an Ecoboost engine. When the engine attained normal operating temperature, the idle was smooth. He had already ruled out other common causes including the injectors and compression test was fine. So yes, in this instance, this engine did in fact have carbon fouling on the intake valves and Ford authorized replacing the cylinder head. The symptom was a rough cold idle and misfires until the engine attained normal operating temperature.

Another thing that Brian mentions is to look at the tailpipe of your car. It may very sooty and the valves will likely look worse.

http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/...426-new-warning-all-ford-ecoboost-owners.html

The above example is a turbocharged Ecoboost engine, not a normally aspirated GDI engine but I cited this example for the connection between a rough cold idle and carbon fouling. I fully understand the concept of carbon acting like a sponge in a port injected engine so I guess this GDI example is an enigma for the Ford engineers.

 

[thenorm]

The techs understand that and as a result, carbon was one of the last things they checked for. A rough cold idle was the first clue and Ford engineers asked resident Ford tech Brian (makuloco2000) to borescope the valves on an Ecoboost engine. When the engine attained normal operating temperature, the idle was smooth. He had already ruled out other common causes including the injectors and compression test was fine. So yes, in this instance, this engine did in fact have carbon fouling on the intake valves and Ford authorized replacing the cylinder head. The symptom was a rough cold idle and misfires until the engine attained normal operating temperature.

Another thing that Brian mentions is to look at the tailpipe of your car. It may very sooty and the valves will likely look worse.

http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/...426-new-warning-all-ford-ecoboost-owners.html

The above example is a turbocharged Ecoboost engine, not a normally aspirated GDI engine.

and again, that is on the 3.5L ecoboost and does not apply.

we need actual info on the 2.0L.

 

[skiboarder119]

Have a look at this You-tube video. Good evidence there is probably carbon build up / deposits on all our engines. There are also some comments from other people who confirmed it with a boroscope. Anyone else get theirs cleaned lately?

 

[wavsine]

Have a look at this You-tube video. Good evidence there is probably carbon build up / deposits on all our engines. There are also some comments from other people who confirmed it with a boroscope. Anyone else get theirs cleaned lately?

Compared to some BMW engines I have seen, those intake valves don't look that bad but still, it underscores my point of running low NOACK synthetic oil and occasionally doing an Italian tuneup. (4,000 rpm on the highway for 15-20 minutes)

 

[ELCouz]

Have a look at this You-tube video. Good evidence there is probably carbon build up / deposits on all our engines. There are also some comments from other people who confirmed it with a boroscope. Anyone else get theirs cleaned lately?

All GDI engine are prone to carbon build-up in the intake... There is NO fuel to clean the intake port.


So far Ford & Mazda said they found out the problem and corrected it by small intake valve overlapping to keep them hot like cakes to burn the deposit.

Stephen Russ, technical leader for combustion for Ford’s 2-liter Duratec DI engine, said that similar to GM, engineers have determined the proper injection-timing calibration to help eliminate the carbon deposits. But Russ also said the technology of injection components – particularly the high-pressure solenoid injectors – has quickly matured, meaning excess valve deposits in most DI engines should become a thing of the past as these improved components are incorporated into production.

The video you shown as Wavsine stated.. looks clean for a GDI !!

Check out the first gen GDI from BMW...